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Age of Calamity
The Age of Calamity, also known as the Great Conflict, was a war of cataclysmic proportions that took place in Dragonfall, and was also the source of the era's name. A massive conflict in the early days of Astera between the fey, giants, and dragons, more specifically the chromatic dragons, it fundamentally reshaped the geography, ecology, political landscape and metaphysics of the world. Background The draconic god Io was spawned from the aberration Obyriss in the later years of First Morning, a result of the aberration's absorption of the chaotic energies generated from Astera's proximity to the Far Realm and the actions of the slaadi. Unlike all of the other spawn of Obyriss, Io glowed with creative energy, and he escaped being devoured by his progenitor. Centuries later, seeing that Obyriss' influence would eventually lead to Astera being totally drained of any possible life, Io would engage Obyriss in a battle for supremacy over the planet. The blood Io shed during this battle would become the first dragons. Knowing that Obyriss could twist and corrupt anything around it, even in a near-dead state, Io resolved to imprison it in an Outer Plane of his own making, known as Pravus. Io also knew that he was especially vulnerable to Obyriss' corruption, as he was born of the being and held a part of its dread power inside him. Thus he removed himself from the Material Realm, leaving his children, the dragons, to help shape and bring order to the world. The dragons would go on to successfully destroy the Abolethic Sovereignty and imprison the remaining slaadi and the chaotic elements in Limbo and the Elemental Planes, respectively. With these chaotic forces controlled, the world began to enter a peaceful harmony. The dragons To help the lesser dragons in their tasks, Io created the draconic pantheon, a group of lesser deities who together could help direct the Ordering. Three of them went out into the world and claimed territory for their kin: Garvarach, a mighty bronze wyrm who relished righteous battle and strength; Zorquan, a silver leviathan who sought to learn about the world and its metaphysical properties; and Sventar, a regal golden dragon and the scion of Io who sought to elevate their species to the greatest of heights. Two other draconic deities were to act at Io's side: Hlal, a lithe copper dragon with a passion for wit and riddles who served as his majordomo, and Thrandu'ul, a brass dragon and lover of flight and freedom who served as messenger between Io and the other deities. The efforts of the dragons ushered in the awakening of the goddess of life, Mishakal, in approximately -22800 Cal, and helped establish the rule of dragons across most of Darathyron. The dragons were centered around three major territories: Harkarut in the west, led by Garvarach; Osgdrathyr in the south, led by Zorquan; and Taldraxos in the east, led by Sventar. Rise of mortals Over the next nearly 3000 years, many new species came to grow alongside the reigning dragons. Chief of these were the giants of Ostoria, led by the powerful Annam All-Father, as well as the eladrin, the first fey beings created by Mishakal to help in tending to the wild and natural places of the world. The first mortal civilizations also arose during this time, namely the loose tribes of humans in the western reaches of the continent, the dwarven thanedoms in the north, and the halflings' in the central prairies at the foothills of the giants' mountains. Circa -21100 Cal, both Hlal and Thrandu'ul were sent by Io to communicate with the rest of the pantheon and report on the state of the draconic nation. When they returned several years later, the doors of the Dragoncourt were barred and Io was nowhere to be found. The two deities immediately informed their brethren, and Zorquan set to work discovering what had happened. Interactions between mortals and dragons Besides losing their connection to their patron, the dragons had another problem on their hands. The mortal civilizations that had appeared over the last few millennia now expanded as far as they dared in the shadow of the dragons and giants, coming into conflict with both. The draconic pantheon was divided on how to deal with them: Garvarach sensed their valor and was in favor of helping to cultivate their potential; Sventar feared they would take up arms against the dragons and seek to overthrow them in the future. Zorquan, for his part, was absorbed in his task of finding out where Io had gone, and relegated the decision to his siblings. In the end, Garvarach convinced Sventar of his idea, arguing that cultivating relationships with mortals would help prevent them from ever overtaking them. Soon, dragons were communicating with humans and dwarves, teaching them the finer points of civilization and, at Garvarach's insistence, warfare. Under the tutelage of the dragons, the dwarves expanded to the edge of Ostoria, much to giant-kind's consternation. The servants of Mishakal- eladrin, dryads, nymphs, treants, and gnomes- also interacted with mortals, warning them against over-expansion, and guiding those who were keen in the art of druidism. Relationships between the gnomes and halflings were much more positive, as the small folk lived in close balance with nature. Mishakal herself was puzzled by the silence of her fellow deity Io, and supported Zorquan in his efforts to find what happened to him. Disappearance of Zorquan Several decades afterwards, the dragons of Osgdrathyr awoke to find that their patron, Zorquan, had disappeared without a trace. One of the more belligerent human tribes, called Carendus by its people, coveted the dragons' power, and upon learning that the leadership of Osgdrathyr had disappeared, a small army of warriors from the tribe traveled to several lairs in the territory, slaying their inhabitants and taking the treasure within. While they could not go deeply into the missing Zorquan's territory, these events caused a rift between Garvarach and Sventar, with the latter expressing support for destroying the offenders and ruling over mortal races. Events The Dragon Rage In approximately -21000 Cal, thousands of dragons spilled out of Osgdrathyr, laying waste to the countryside and attacking human and giant settlements. Their scales had transformed from a metallic sheen to a solid chromatic, and within days they destroyed the human tribe of Carendus as well as a solid portion of the giant territory controlled by Grolantor, king of the hill giants and son of Annam All-Father. This event would come to be known as the first Dragon Rage. The tide was stemmed by the efforts of Garvarach and Grolantor: between their two forces, all of the corrupted dragons perished and Osgdrathyr was no more. However, there was no sign of what had driven these dragons to madness, and Zorquan had still not returned. Sventar, for his part, was furious at his brother for killing other dragons for the sake of mortals, and closed off Taldraxos from the rest of the world. After the Rage, the dwarves began to enter into conflict with the giants of the north. Millenium of strife Perhaps a century after the Dragon Rage, the silence of Taldraxos abruptly ended when Sventar himself emerged with an army of tens of thousands of dragons, his hide changed from beautiful golden to a deep crimson- a godly red dragon. At his side was the missing Zorquan, emaciated, yet emanating dreadful power. Their sights were set on Harkarut, ruled by Garvarach, and the metallic and chromatic dragons engaged in a massive war that nearly ignited the land itself. While the initial conflict was between Garvarach and Sventar, Mishakal knew that the corrupted dragons would likely not stop there. She called upon the Seldarine, mightiest of the eladrin, to aid the metallic dragons in their conflict. The giants joined the conflict as well, seeing the unleashed dragons as a threat to their sovereignty. The conflict tore apart the land, and despite the magical power of the fey and the ferocity of the giants, the chromatic forces advanced inexorably forward, encroaching on mortal territories, who organized a surprisingly spirited defense. To help aid their own defense, and in hopes of gaining more allies, Mishakal and Garvarach chose two individuals from the humans, dwarves, and halflings and granted them demigodhood. These were the first mortal deities: the human brothers Heironeous and Hextor, the dwarven warriors Moradin and Berronar, and the spirited halflings Yondalla and Arvoreen. With their addition to the war, the mortal realms gained mighty defenders and the advance of the chromatics began to stall. Betrayal of Hextor On the field of one particularly bloody battle, the demigod Hextor saw the power of the chromatics and fell to despair. Viewing them as an enemy against which it was folly to stand, he turned against his brother Heironeous and slew him in a cowardly attack. However, from his death, the two demigods Trithereon and Tyr arose, and beset their traitorous brother. Gravely injured, Hextor managed to get away, but fled into the depths of the Underdark. He would go on to become a powerful, evil deity of tyranny, while Trithereon and Tyr would become faithful allies of Garvarach, and deities of freedom and justice, respectively. The Great Schism Main article: The Great Schism Eventually, Mishakal discovered that the source of the corruption of Sventar and Zorquan was none other than Io himself. Being born of the primordial evil Obyriss, Io held a shard of the being inside of him, and over time, the malicious aberration had twisted and turned it inside the mighty god until the evil had infected his mind. Io had sunk to the depths of Pravus, the prison-realm of Obyriss, warring against himself in a bid to contain this corruptive influence, but Zorquan's delving into his father's disappearance gave the corruption another foothold to spread to the rest of dragonkind. Mishakal confronted Io and attempted to excise the corruption from him. However, the energies that were contained within Io erupted outwards as he was sundered in two, sundering the continent of Darathyron in a cataclysm known as the Great Schism. The bulk of the chromatic and metallic dragon forces were destroyed, and the giants' kingdom was torn into three pieces.